Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Moonlight Basin

Today we woke up at 7 AM, got ready, had breakfast in the room (biscuits with jam, cocoa, apple juice, cookies from last night), and headed out at 8:20. We arrived at Moonlight Basin at 9:25. Moonlight Basin is a resort that touches Big Sky and even shares some runs with it. It was off-and-on sunshine, high overcast, and around 10-20 degrees today. In the morning, there was strong wind, but good gear kept us warm.

There were two main chairlifts we rode -- a high-speed, detachable six-pack called the Six Shooter, and a fixed-grip quad called the Lone Tree. From these, we were able to access lots of terrific trails -- blues and blacks. We were able to ski for a long time because the runs are so nice and long!

Lunch at noon was at the Jack Creek Grille, in the Moonlight Lodge. Crab cakes for an appetizer, then I had the Flatbread, a pita with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil...yummy. Cocoa topped it off. By 1:00, we were back out.

"The Headwaters" are a series of trails (rated black or mostly double-black...for experts only) high up above the rest of Moonlight Basin. Shortly after lunch, my dad, Matthew, and I pushed ourselves up a hill, got on a double, and rode to the top. It started snowing and it was pretty windy at the top! We were, however, able to see mountains all around; picturesque! After snapping some pictures, we started down. To get to the runs, you had to go on a very narrow, packed-snow path with rocks. We tried to dodge most of them. We took a double-black down, and we all got down safely. It was powder and quite steep and SO MUCH FUN!

After that, we did some moguls (fun to bounce through), tree skiing, and powder since it was snowing pretty hard in the afternoon. The powder was soft, fluffy, and quiet, perfect to float through. To finish off, Matthew and I got hatpins before heading back to our hotel, arriving at 6:15. We're having leftovers in the room for supper. It'll be nice to relax after a wonderful day of skiing.

Today was, for me, a day of becoming a more confident and experienced skier. I really enjoyed the challenges and I handled the moguls, powder, and glades with much more confidence than before. I went faster, had springier knees, and just cut loose. My new skis are perfect; they really help me. Overall, I'm really enjoying honing my 13-year-old skiing skills. I've never had as much fun!